Lanre Shadiya: What Is Wrong With Buhari’s Nigeria?

During the last Presidential elections, I supported the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari. I did not only support in words, I did in action and also financially contributed to his campaign from the little I have. I have never met the retired General, I seek no political position or juicy contract and I am not a member of any political party. I supported Muhammadu Buhari because I believed, and still believe, he was the best option we had out of all the candidates that we were asked to choose from in 2015. Depending on who you ask about the administration’s performance till date, it could be said to be an outright disappointment, mediocre performance or absolutely satisfactory. I am not a praise singer or a doomsday prophet. I am a Nigerian that feel what my people feel and fear what my people fear. Simply put, I am just a hardworking Nigerian that wants the basic necessities of life and an assurance of a better tomorrow.

The current hardship in the land cannot and should not be denied by anyone. The Presidency, National Assembly, Political parties, religious bodies, Labour Unions and the society at large must know that the average Nigerian today has at no other time in the history of this country feared extinction like now. Unfortunately, these are the same people that almost all facets of the society have chosen to abandon, or at the very best, relegate to the background. A man requires more efforts to get fuel in Nigeria now than he requires to walk through the eye of a needle. Likewise, the state of the country’s power generation facilities has become wantonly ridiculous.

While it is easy to heap all of these on the current administration, the truth is that we are only seeing the results of past “leadership iniquities”. I am convinced also that the government of President Buhari has also not been forth coming as he and his party promised during the election. Expectedly, the anti-corruption President is pursuing the moral, social and humane decay in the last administration. No reasonable person will oppose such war against corrupt official trusted with the funds of the country but who chose to enrich themselves and their cronies. We have read, heard and seen how monies meant to fight evil have been pocketed by silently evil men. If not for any reason, these persons must be tried for the thousands of Nigerians that could still have been alive today but now dead as a result of depriving the Nigerian soldiers the resources to combat Boko Haram. Other corrupt cases must also be conclusively pursued; the Senate Speaker should answer for his charges and discharged and acquitted if he is found innocent, the NIS recruitment saga that took the lives of 18 persons should be properly investigated, those involved in the popular case of the two most expensive BMW cars in the world should also not be spared and all looted funds recovered. This should be the same for all individual irrespective of tribe, political or religious affiliation or gender. It is time in Nigeria for all citizens especially government officials to understand that responsibilities come with accountability.

Today, very few understand or even know the economic pathway that the current administration intends to follow to bring us out of the current mess that we are in. A lot of people have said the government has none. While I disagree that the government does not have an economic development plan as it has been accused in recent times, it is my belief that the plan may not have been articulately communicated to the citizens. The government of President Buhari should know that although Nigerians elected him President to lead the country for the next four years, we also expect him to share his vision and plans with us and not run a cult-like government as he has been accused of doing in recent times. What the administration has achieved in credibility for corruption intolerance, it has lost in its dissemination of information, citizens’ awareness and orientation. As things stand, President Buhari seems to have been bitten by the same “awkward-spokespersons” bug that bit the last President. His media aides find it more pleasurable to pick a fight rather than engage the citizens in thoughts and debates.

10 months have gone out of 48 months that the President has to show that we made no mistake in electing him. Either President Buhari likes it or not, the liabilities and failures of the past governments – Chibok girls, dysfunctional systems, power generation, rule of law, unemployment, infrastructural decay, corruption etc. are now on his table and not that of anyone else. I pray for his good health and divine guidance as he continues to weather this stormy terrain. However, I will like to tell him that he now has 38 months to redeem himself and the promises he made during his campaign else we discuss him afterwards as we do of the ones before him.

Follow me at @lanreshadiya

Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of naijajablog nor its associates